United States: President Trump has stated in a Thursday morning Truth Social post that he has instructed the Commerce Department to begin the work on a new census, followed by the addition that illegal aliens in the Country will not be afforded the opportunity of being counted during the count of population.
More about the news
“I have instructed our Department of Commerce to immediately begin work on a new and highly accurate CENSUS based on modern-day facts and figures and, importantly, using the results and information gained from the Presidential Election of 2024,” according to the president.
“People who are in our Country illegally WILL NOT BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” he continued.
The U.S. undertakes a census periodically every ten years- the most up-to-date decennial census was carried out in 2020, and the next census is to be undertaken in 2030.
The political influence each state possesses is dependent upon the population of the decennial census, as the counts are multiplied and added to ascertain where each state is allotted the seats that are allowed in the House of Representatives, otherwise known as apportionment.
As a result, the number of electoral votes awarded to each state to elect a president is also directly dependent on the number of electoral votes, since the number of electoral votes equals the number of House and Senate seats in each given state.
Moreover, the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads in part, “Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed,” as Fox News reported.
Additionnally, the U.S. Census Bureau, which falls under the Department of Commerce, indicates that “unauthorized immigrants” are taken into account as the resident population figures, noting on a frequently asked questions web page that “all people (citizens and noncitizens) with a usual residence in the United States are included in the resident population for the census.”
In 2021, President Joe Biden issued an executive order revoking Trump’s memorandum, but Trump revoked the order issued by Biden this year.